Explorations of the effect of experience on preferences for a health-care service

Tzahi Neuman, Einat Neuman and Shoshana Neuman

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), 2010, vol. 39, issue 3, 407-419

Abstract: The standard assumption in economic theory is that preferences do not change as a result of experience with the commodity/service/event. Behavioral scientists have challenged this assumption, claiming that preferences constantly do change as experience is accumulated. This paper tests the effect of experience with a health-care service on preferences for maternity-ward attributes. In order to explore the effect of experience on preferences, the research sample was decomposed into three sub-samples: women pregnant with their first child (no experience); women after one delivery (single experience); and women after more than one delivery (multiple experiences). The preference patterns of the three sub-groups were estimated and compared. A Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) was employed for establishing the relative importance of five attributes. Socio-economic background variables were also considered. The basic findings are that preferences change significantly as a result of experience with the health event; that the effect of experience is attribute-specific; that the extent of past experience (number of deliveries) is irrelevant; and that the effect of experience differs by socio-economic status.

Keywords: Preferences; Experience; Discrete; Choice; Experiment; Health-care; Delivery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceco:v:39:y:2010:i:3:p:407-419

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